


Care for Me

by PagetPaulson



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-06
Updated: 2014-08-26
Packaged: 2018-02-12 01:50:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 17,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2091333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PagetPaulson/pseuds/PagetPaulson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What some would call a friendly gesture comes begrudgingly from the mother of one, helping her Section Chief get through a time where she thought she didn't want to go on.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Baby, I promise to call you back once I'm on my lunch break, ok?" Emily grinned against her cell phone as she walked through the FBI's East Wing door and into the lobby, her daughter chattering away from the other end. "Sweetheart, it's only a few hours."

Quickening her pace to make the elevator, her elbow pushed the doors back open and stepped inside. She noticed a slightly swaying figure to her right and she turned her head, her eyes narrowing as she nodded to the BAU's Section Chief. "Ok baby, I'll be sure to write that down on the grocery list. Be good for Maggie, ok?" After hearing her three year old blow kisses into the phone, she quickly hung it up.

Erin Strauss turned to look at the younger woman, watching as she instantly stiffened when she felt eyes on her. "Good morning Agent Prentiss."

"Chief Strauss," she nodded. "How was your weekend?"

The older woman gently shook her head. "Just fine. So, was that your daughter on the phone? What's her name, Amy?"

Emily eyed the blond at her side, hearing the dings of the elevator as they continued upstairs. "Acelyn," she stated slowly.

"Beautiful name. What's her whole name?"

Seeing the dazed look in the other mother's eyes and watching how she gently swayed back and forth, Emily's brow rose. "Acelyn Alorra. Ma'am, are you alright?"

"Just a little tired," Erin dismissed, leading the younger woman out of the elevator and into the small lobby of the sixth floor. "Have a good day Agent Prentiss."

The brunette woman watched as her Section Chief walk swiftly down the corridor with her head falling to the side only slightly before turning the corner. Tired? the mother scoffed, making her way into the bullpen and sitting herself down at the desk she had been given five years prior. "Hey," she smiled to her genius coworker, opening up her briefcase. "Did Hotch come in yet?"

Reid smiled to the older woman. "It's eight, Em. He's always here by seven twenty-five, unless it's a Wednesday and Jack goes to his aunt's, otherwise h-"

"Ok, thanks Reid." Emily quickly got up from her seat and walked up to her boss' office, the file she had finished working on at home the night before in her hand.

"Come in."

Twisting the handle, Emily stepped inside. "Hey, I have the Emerson file for you to sign off on." She set it down on the top of the pile, her fingers coming to play in front of her stomach. "Hotch?"

The older man looked up from his desk. "Is something wrong?"

"Have you noticed anything different about Strauss?" she questioned, her brow arching.

Hotch frowned, sitting up in his chair and setting down his ballpoint pen. "Did something happen?"

Emily sighed before sitting herself down in one of the visitor chairs. "It's nothing bad per say, but I spoke with her this morning in the elevator and she just didn't seem to be herself."

"Well I heard that she's still getting over her husband's death," he nodded, referring to the car accident that had occurred the year prior. "And she's been dealing with the director and the Pentagon on a difficult case. I'm sure it's nothing, but if it continued then let me know."

The brunette woman nodded. "Of course, sir."

Two hours later, Emily and Penelope were the only two from the BAU's A-team still at Quantico, the brunette woman having to stay on desk duty for at least two more weeks because of her shot wound to the abdomen. She had been cleared by the doctor to go back to work, but Hotch was insistent that she stay home until she was fully healed.

So her technical analyst had set up a tour for her to guide, knowing that she'd get restless going through reports and case files all day long.

Walking before the class of high school seniors, Emily led them out of the bullpen and into the sixth floor's small lobby area. "Any questions?" Her chin lifted hen she saw a couple of hands raise from the back. "Ms. Romero?"

The blue eyed teen quickly nodded her head. "Are there any cases that are easier than others? You know, emotionally?"

Emily bit down on her lip, her hands clasping in front of her. "I wish I had a good answer for you," she smiled gently, "but there's no telling how you can really feel about it until you're in the situation. All I can tell you is that you need a tough skin."

"Are there times when you can't catch them?"

"No," she sighed. "It may take a while, sometimes even years, but we always get them one way or another." Her eyes flickered away from the group and down the hall, a frown etching over her face when she saw the Section Chief stumbling into her office and slamming the door behind her. "Class, if you all can find your teacher down by the technical analyst's office down at the opposite end of the hall. I have a meeting I need to get to."

Waiting until the group of seniors departed from the entrance to the bullpen, Emily expertly spun on her heel and marched down the hall, bustling past other agents and a janitor trying to get a scrape up off of the floor. She pushed into the office after giving a small knock, her eyes trying to seek through the darkness as she shut it behind her. "Strauss?"

She heard metal slamming against the floor, and the brunette woman quickly found herself running further into the darkened room to see Section Chief Strauss on her knees clutching the trash bin. "What happened to you?"

Erin gagged, feeling one of the younger woman's hands pulling back her hair while the other rubbed somewhat soothing circles on her back. "Will you lower your voice please?"

"I'm already whispering," the mother of one hissed. "You got drunk on a work day?"

"I have a headache."

Hearing the whine from the older woman, Emily bit down hard on her cheek to stop herself from screaming. She forced the blond to turn and sit up against the side of her desk. "Just sit for a moment, alright? Don't try to move."

Erin lazily nodded her head. "Yes ma'am," she coughed. Her eyes instantly shut to block out any type of light that might have snuck into her office, only to open them what seemed like a second later when she felt something cold and wet press against her forehead. "Shoo!"

Emily took the woman's batting hand in hers to avoid a slap to the face, keeping the cold compress she had made against her skin. "Keep still, would you? You're going to end up hurting yourself."

"I don't feel good."

The brunette woman made a face when the other burped, and she slowly shook her head. "Did you drive here?" Erin wasn't looking straight at her, but she knew that she was feeling the glare she was sending her.

The Section Chief pouted before nodding her head.

"I cannot believe you." Emily felt as if she were scolding her three year old daughter. "Come on, I'm taking you home."

Erin let out what sounded like an annoyed little mewl. "To your house?"

The brown eyed brunette helped the older woman up off of the floor and out into the hallway once her purse was hanging from her elbow. "If I let you near my child in this state, I'd be considered one of the worst mothers."

Throwing her arm around the younger mother who was helping her down to the elevators, Erin pursed her lips. "You're so sweet," she grinned. "Like a little buttercup."

Emily grimaced at the feeling of the blond staring. "Right."


	2. Chapter 2

Blinking heavily when the light invaded her eyes, Erin moved her hand to cover them. "God?" She tried her best to open her blue eyes just a smidge and she groaned, watching as a blurred figure moved in front of her.

"No, not even close."

The blond sat herself up as best she could when she heard the raspy voice, her hands pushing into the cushion she sat on.

Emily watched the older woman struggle before her, and after sitting herself down on the expense coffee table, she handed the Section Chief the glass of water she had poured for her. "Feeling any better?"

Erin's hand reached out for the brunette and let her help her sit before her she took the glass and set it to her lips. "Can you please turn the lights off?"

"They're not on," the younger mother smiled. "But don't worry, I crushed up two asprin and dissolved them into your water. This way you don't have to depend on your drunken self to remember to take them."

Looking up from her glass, Erin took a moment to let her eyes focus. "Agent Prentiss?"

Emily strictly nodded her head. "Ma'am. Hangover doing you good?"

"What are you doing in my home?"

The younger woman gave a domineering smile, her long legs crossing as she clasped her hands over her knee. "If I were you ma'am, I wouldn't be snippy with the woman who took you from the office and helped you into your home so you wouldn't be found out. If it weren't for me, you would be passed out on your office floor." Emily shrugged. "Maybe even suffocating on your own vomit for all I know."

The Section Chief rolled her aching eyes at the words of the brunette mother. "I get it, Agent Prentiss."

"No, I don't think you do." Emily hardened her eyes on the woman before her. "Do you have any idea what could have happened? How your job could have been affected? How you could have hurt yourself?"

"I do not need a lecture from a subordinate, do you hear me?"

Sighing, the FBI agent stood from her spot on the coffee table. "If you don't want to hear it from me then I'll just let Agent Hotchner and Director Lewis deal with the situation."

Erin glared up to the younger woman as strongly as she could, the glass clutched tightly in her hand. "Sit."

Emily let herself grin, moving back to the seat she had left not a moment prior. "Nice choice," she smiled. "Tell me something."

"What would you like to know, Agent Prentiss?"

The brunette got herself comfortable on the glass table and looked softly to the older woman. "What caused you to get so drunk last night, or this morning, that you could barely even sit up?"

Erin swallowed, guilt beginning to build within her as she looked away from the younger mother. "I couldn't sit by myself?" she whispered.

"I had to prop you up against the desk while I got you a cold compress," Emily stated sensitively. "Did something happen to upset you?"

The Section Chief was quick to gain back her confidence, shaking her head at the question. "Agent Prentiss, I do not have to answer these silly questions for you. I have a therapist for things like this."

Emily let her brows raise. "You have a therapist?"

"What agent in the FBI doesn't?"

The chocolate eyed woman let out a chuckle. "You have a point there." She stood, giving a sigh as she took her purse and let it elegantly drape from her elbow. "I'll let you alone, I just have to make a quick call."

Erin set the glass down on the coffee table, watching as the younger woman began to retreat from her parlor. "And who would you be trying to contact, Agent Prentiss? Would it be your superior?"

"Oh Section Chief Strauss," the brunette grinned, "if you don't think I've already spoken with Hotch then you're very much mistaken. I'm just giving him a reminder that when he gets back from his case, he's going to want to meet with me for all the details before he goes to the director."

The older woman stood from the couch. "You tattle tailed on me? What is this, middle school?"

Emily relaxed her stance. "Well I reported it for a few reasons. First off, if I hadn't and he found out later on, I would have lost my job."

"I can make you both lose your jobs," she growled.

"And secondly," the younger mother continued, "I care about you, and your health. If something like this happened again and it ended differently, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself." Seeing the Section Chief's eyes drop to the floor, Emily nodded her head. "I'll let myself out."

Erin watched with heavy-lidded eyes as the agent walked out toward her front door. "Thank you."

Emily continued on, knowing that it was something the older woman didn't want her to hear.


	3. Chapter 3

Feeling her head begin to pound from the incessant ringing of her office phone, Emily quickly abandoned the file she was working on on her computer and took picked up the receiver. "Agent Prentiss," she sighed.

"Emily Prentiss?"

The thirty-six year old frowned at the unfamiliar voice. "Yes, can I help you?"

"I'm Felicity Strauss. You're the one who brought my mom home yesterday?"

Emily was shocked. She thought the Strauss children were already all in college. "You're Strauss' daughter? I'm sorry, I thought she once told us that you were in college."

"Oh yeah," the girl smiled. "Both my brother and I are in college, but I came home to visit. I was upstairs yesterday and heard everything, and I wanted to thank you for helping my mom back home."

The single mother loosened her grip on the phone. "Well she wasn't necessarily feeling well yesterday, and I-"

"I know she was drunk."

Emily felt her shoulders sag. "Oh."

The twenty year old on the other end of the phone just shook her head, her beautiful blond curls bouncing as she stood outside her mom's bedroom door. "Don't feel bad, she does it a lot. I tried to get her to go to a meeting for alcoholics but she just got really mad and stormed off."

"You think it's that bad?"

Felicity bit off a chunk of her granola bar, hearing the concern in the older woman's voice. "You're not the one who comes home to her on holidays and watches her try to say her name correctly after we open presents."

Emily bit down hard on her lip as sadness ran through her, thinking of the poor woman that she and her friends had made fun of for so many years. "Felicity, can I make a deal with you?"

The blond grinned against her phone. "Lay it on me."

It was two weeks after her subordinate had brought her home from the office when Strauss was setting the dining room table. She had given her housekeeper the week off, and now she was cleaning, setting her own table and making the beds just as she had been taught to when she was a child. "LiLi," she called as she put the forks in their right places. "Can you get the door?"

Felicity came into the dining room frowning. "I didn't hear the door."

"I did. Will you get it please?"

The twenty year old gave a heavy sigh before giving a bow. "As you wish, your highness."

Erin bit her tongue to keep from speaking back to her daughter as she heard her daughter walking out toward the foyer. Felicity had stayed with her for weeks to try and get her back on her feet, even though the mother of two knew damn well that she was fine, and had at least two more weeks of staying at the home she had grown up in to do what she thought was helpful.

Sit around the house on her phone and guard the alcohol by locking it up.

What the young college girl didn't know is that her mother had broken into the liquor cabinet four times, filling the rest of the vodka bottle with water so it looked as if nothing had been tampered with.

Looking up from the table when she heard heels against her pristine wooden floors, Erin frowned. "LiLi, who was it?"

"Just a friend," she grinned, jumping from the hallway and into the dining room. "Mom you know SSA Emily Prentiss, right?"

Erin's eyes widened, seeing the brunette woman with her hair so perfectly waved step into the dining room, her obviously designer black dress fitted to perfection.

Emily smiled gently to the older woman. "Hello to you too Erin," she nodded, sensing her shock from across the room.

"Can I ask what you're doing here?"

"Well," the brunette sighed, "I spoke with Felicity just the other day and we thought it would be a nice idea to have dinner."

Felicity grinned at the sight of the biggest part of their scheme charging down the hall. "Hi sweetie, what's your name?"

The three year old hopped into her mother's arms and let her set her tiny body on a slender hip. "Acelyn," she giggled. "Hi Licity."

Emily pressed a gentle kiss to her daughter's beautifully black hair before looking to the older woman, her arms wrapping around the child as she gave a smile. "So, what are we having?"


	4. Chapter 4

Emily smiled to the twenty year old when she picked up the bowl with the green beans so she could pass it to her. "Thank you, Felicity," she nodded, scooping some out of the fine china for her daughter before she did it for herself. "Erin, your potatoes are amazing. What's your trick?"

The older woman felt herself glaring at her subordinate as she watched her slowly put a forkful of her potatoes up to her lips. "They came from a box."

Felicity was quick to raise her hand. "Not true. Mom is one of the best cooks of all time. She even made my birthday cake once and it was so much better than I thought it would be," she laughed.

"I got a birthday!"

Emily nodded, sharing a smile with her young daughter. "Yes she does. Acelyn's birthday is December twentieth."

"That's just a couple months away," the college girl pointed out. "Maybe I'll get the little one a present," she winked.

Erin gave a grunt, sitting back in her chair. "Don't push anything, Felicity. You weren't invited to anything, so do not put your nose where it doesn't belong."

Emily watched as the older woman's eyes darkened, and she put on a smile. "Felicity," she nodded, looking to the twenty year old. "I'm sure Acelyn would love for you to come." She looked up to the blond that sat across from her and gave her a welcoming smile. "We'd be expecting you in attendance if Felicity is coming. Would you like to?"

The Section Chief chanced a look at her expectant daughter before giving a small nod of the head. "I would have to check my schedule."

Reaching up from where she sat in her seat, Acelyn tried her best to look over the table. "Mommy?"

"What is it baby?"

Acelyn juggled with the cup of milk she had been given, her small hands cupping around it just like her mother had taught her. "Can I drink that stuff that momma used to drink?"

The blue eyed woman looked to her subordinate. She was gay?

"No honey," Emily sighed, helping her daughter put the glass to her lips. "That's beer, and beer is an adult drink."

"Adults gots their own drinks?"

The FBI agent nodded her head, her hands taking the glass from her daughter and setting it down safely on the table. If she had let her three year old do it all by herself then everything would end up on the floor. "Yes, it's called alcohol."

Felicity took a bite of the pickle that she always had with her dinner. "But just because you're an adult doesn't mean you should have alcohol. I don't plan on having any when I become of age."

"Mommy, do you have it?"

"Sometimes," the single mother admitted. "But that doesn't mean it's right." Turning her head, Emily's chocolate eyes softened as best they could, knowing that she was having a difficult time with the subject. "What do you think Erin?"

Ridding the images of the younger woman in her beautiful dress and perfect high heels out of her mind, Erin let the picture of that sassy, good-for-nothing agent that would bitch to her when she didn't like what was happening at work. "I think dinner is over," she bit out.

Felicity watched as her mother stood up from her seat and quickly evacuated the dining room, her feet heavy against the floor until she heard the door slam.

Emily's lips rolled into her mouth. "Well," she drew out. "That didn't go as planned."

"I'm so sorry, Emily."

The brunette's hair bounced as she shook her head, standing from her seat just as the woman of the house had done before. "That's alright, sweetheart. Why don't we help you with the dishes?"

"You don't have to," the twenty year old tried, pissed that her mother had just walked away from their guests like that.

Emily smiled. "It wouldn't be a hassle. Acelyn loves helping mommy with the dishes, don't you baby?"

"Yeah mommy!"

Watching with a smile as her daughter took the dirty plate and ran as carefully as she could behind the older daughter, Emily quietly walked from the room and ventured up the house's stairs.

Erin kept herself quiet as she sat on the foot of her bed, her arms folded so tightly over her chest that she could feel her arms running cold.

A shadow walked in front of the door.

The blonde's eyes rolled, softening up her hold. "LiLi I don't want to talk right now." Not hearing a response she frowned, and watched a note be slid underneath the door and the figure venture away.

She slowly stood from the bed and tiptoed her way over to the door, bending over to take the piece of paper with her subordinate's writing in her hand.


	5. Chapter 5

If you begin to feel the cracks growing wider, give me a call. You know I'd understand.

Erin had been staring at the note her subordinate had left for her so many weeks ago. They hadn't spoken, but she knew that her daughter had been in contact with the woman in question, seeing as how the twenty year old would call her every Friday and dish about what the two had spoken about that week.

It disgusted her.

The single mother of that cute little three year old had nothing to do with her situation, and she tried to get in the middle of everything? It wasn't even a dire situation. She liked alcohol, who didn't?

Alcohol was part of her life, her culture.

She had grown up for the first three years of her life in a small town in France, and every night at dinner the children of the family would get small sips of wine. She wasn't addicted, she was just used to it. Having it with a meal was something that her mother had taught her, and defying something that had been in her life for decades just didn't seem right.

Erin sighed, her eyes raking over the messily written words. Emily Prentiss sure had awful handwriting, but there was something about the way she signed her name that made the older woman's heart uneasily flutter within her chest cavity.

Her shaking hand reached for the phone that sat on the desk in her study, her breath picking up speed when she heard the woman greet her from the opposite end. "How dare you?"

Emily's lips pursed. "Should I ask what this is in reference to?"

"You brought your daughter to my house and pulled that little ploy, involving my daughter, to try and get me to realize that something is wrong with my drinking?"

The brunette agent could hear the older woman begin to lose her patience, something that she had never done. "Ma'am," she tried to state softly, "I left you all my numbers and home address in case you wanted to talk. If you feel like going on a rant, just give me a moment to step out of the room and I'm all ears."

Somehow Erin knew that the single mother wasn't being sarcastic. "I already know where you live," she grumbled. It was policy for her to have all agents' numbers and addresses for paychecks and other reasons that the upperheads wouldn't tell.

"Acelyn and I usually spend time out in our cabin over in Mountain Lake, Virginia. And on holidays if we're not with my parents or the team, I take her out to our house in Branford, Connecticut."

"How many homes do you have?"

Emily felt herself laugh at the astonishment in the Section Chief's voice. "Two here in Virginia, one in Connecticut, one in New York and one over in the Greek Island of Corfu." She bit down hard into her cheek to keep her emotions in check, and hearing that labored breathing on the other end of the phone, she nodded. "One day I think it'd be nice for you and Felicity to come and see us there."

"You leave my daughter out of this," Erin hissed, her teeth barring and her nails scratching into the wood of her desk. "I only called to tell you to stop meddling in my life. I am not a puzzle for you to try and put together Agent Prentiss, so if I were you, I'd lose my number."

Hearing the angry click and disconnection from the blond, Emily leaned back against the wall and settled her phone to her chest. She'd have to wait.

Three in the morning.

Three in the fucking morning was when she heard the knocking at her door, and running her fingers through the messy tousles on her head, Emily pulled her home's front door open.

Erin Strauss' chest ached at the sight of the glowing light from inside the home. "May I come in?"

Emily set her hand to the older woman's arm, leading her inside the house with a small smile on her face.


	6. Chapter 6

Emily stayed seated by the older woman she had invited into her home, just as she had for twenty minutes now, and patiently waited for the fidgeting blond to open her mouth. Once she had strode into the agent's house, she had gone silent, her eyes flickering from object to expensive object that she had bought or inherited over the years.

Their bodies weren't far apart, and the single mother could feel the cold that had followed Erin inside blowing off of her skin and onto hers.

"I wanted to thank you."

The whispered words barely reached Emily's waiting ears, her eyes flickering over to the older woman. "For what, exactly?"

Erin lifted her head, still refusing to meet Emily's gaze. "For letting me speak to you when I needed to." Her shoulders shrugged, hands stuffed in the sweatshirt that was obviously uncharacteristic for a woman of her stature. "I didn't know I'd need that."

The brunette woman reached her hand out and gently set it on the Section Chief's knee. "You don't have to thank me for that. I know it can be hard, and sometimes you just need a friend."

"I've been awful to you."

Emily kept quiet. She wouldn't deny the admission.

Turning slightly so she could look up into those warm chocolate eyes of the younger woman, Erin Strauss took in a shaky breath. "But thank you," she breathed. "Thank you for not turning me away like other people would have."

The brunette agent smiled gently. "It's an honor to be able to listen to you. Would you like some tea?"

"I think I would," the blue eyed mother nodded. "Thank you."

Bounding down the stairs just as she did every morning, Acelyn Alorra clutched her teddy bear tight in her arms. Usually she'd have her mother running behind her and telling her over and over again to slow down or else she would fall, but she didn't find her in her bed like she usually did.

Maybe she was already making breakfast?

Acelyn shrugged at the thought, quietly walking through the hallways as she vaguely remembered her mother waking up before her the Christmas before and making her a special breakfast.

Moving her dark hair from her eyes with the fingers on her right hand, the three year old stepped into the living room where she and her mommy had always watched movies on the weekends. Her mommy was sitting back on the couch with that woman from dinner the other night lying her head on her shoulder, their bodies close together just as Acelyn did with her teddy when she was going to sleep.

It was like that picture she had found of mommy and momma.

"Mommy?"

Emily's facial muscles tightened at the sound that invaded her ears.

"Mommy," the little giggled, going up to the couch and tapping at the agent's leg. "Mommy wake up."

Finally opening up her dark eyes, the single mother fought the urge to yawn, her feet that were resting on the coffee table almost hitting the mugs that she and Erin had been drinking out of during the night. "Hey baby," she whispered, sitting up as best she could with the older woman leaning against her. "You're up early, aren't you?"

Acelyn quickly shook her head. "My ducky clock is on."

Emily frowned. Her daughter's alarm clock had already gone off, and that meant it was after eight o'clock.

The brown eyed girl hopped up onto the couch and jumped into her mother's arms, kissing against her smiling cheek. "Hi mommy!"

Hearing the loud screams from a tiny body, the Section Chief sat herself up, her fingers coming up to rub at the underside of her eyes.

"Morning!"

Blue eyes found brown as the blond in the room looked to the young girl for the second time in her life. "Good morning Acelyn," she nodded. "Did you sleep well?"

Acelyn's little head bobbed up and down as her mother got up from the couch and carried her in her arms. "You was with my mommy."

Emily quickly quieted her daughter with a kiss to her hair. "Why don't you go on and get your cereal for the morning, ok? Mommy will be there in a minute to get it ready for you." Waiting until the three year old was out of sight, Emily sat herself down beside the older woman. All of a sudden, everything that they had spoken about last night, addictions, triggers, nightmares and secrets flooded her mind when she saw those eyes that were as blue as the sea. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she nodded. "Thank you very much for last night."

Emily was quick to stand up when the Section Chief did, grabbing onto her hand when she grew scared and tried to get out of the room. "Erin," she tried to smile, making the blond as comfortable as she could, "stay for breakfast. I can lend you a dress and we can go into work together, once I drop Acelyn at daycare."

Feeling a lump beginning to form in her throat, Erin's eyes grew teary. The younger woman truly cared. "I would love to."


	7. Chapter 7

The blue eyed woman looked up to the clock that sat on the opposite wall for the sixth time in maybe thirty seconds. It finally reached five o'clock and it was time for her to get out of the office and leave for home.

Well, Emily's home.

The two had spent the last couple of nights staying up and talking, always at Emily's because of little Acelyn, and they were getting closer with each passing minute they continued to open up.

But today was Friday, and Emily had invited the older woman to spend the night.

Just thinking of the conversation they had about her staying over gave Erin the shivers, her mind picturing those alluring brown eyes the agent possessed. She wasn't falling for her, no; not attracted. It was admiration and idolatry for the brunette mother, that she was sure of.

Erin smiled once everything she needed to have packed was shoved into her briefcase, and she stood from her seat as fast as she could, just like a horny teenage boy would if he were going to hookup with the hottest girl in school, and practically sprinted out of her office.

She stopped just outside the BAU bullpen's entrance doors to give herself a few seconds to lose her flushed face and brush the flyaway hairs from her face. If she looked messy for the younger woman, she would be sure to beat herself up for that later on.

"Erin?"

The Section Chief spun around, her eyes widening at the sight of the author she had had a fling with just the year before. "David," she nodded jerkily. "Heading home?"

Dave grinned. "As you are, yes?"

"Yes, I'm going home in a few. I just need to grab something."

Making a face as if he approved, the graying agent stepped closer to the blond. "Your new girlfriend?"

Erin's eyes widened, her jaw dropping at the smug look she saw on his face. "Excuse me?" She couldn't feel herself breathing. Was she dead? Maybe if she were dead then she'd be able to leave and he could never find her again.

"I'm not judging," the author laughed, holding his hands up in a surrender. "You two would definitely turn into the unit's 'it' couple once people found out, but i's something to be careful with."

"Dave?" She could hear her voice wavering.

He kept himself quiet for just a second, his eyes roaming the features of her face as his began to harden. "She's become my daughter, and if you hurt my beautiful cara or her daughter then I will have you down in the ground faster than you can scream for help. Understand me?"

Erin could only watch as he walked away, and she felt herself growing more and more silent as Emily came out and they ventured down to the parking garage.

They were taking the same car.

Biting her lip to keep from laughing, Emily waited until the older woman finally sat herself in the passenger seat and locked the door. "You didn't have to do that," she smiled, referencing the lookout the Section Chief had done before getting into the car. "It's not as if we're going to be followed."

Erin gave a tense smile. "Sorry."

"If you don't mind, I have to go and get Acelyn from daycare and take her across town to her mother's." Seeing the frightened look on the older woman's face, all the brunette could do was groan. "I'm so sorry but I completely forgot that it was Friday, and it's her weekend to see Acelyn. If you want, I can drop you off at the house while I run into the city to drop her off."

The blue eyed woman connected her gaze with the younger mother's for only a second before she shook her head. "I can just wait in the car."

"Are you sure? I don't want this to be awkward."

Oh it was awkward. Definitely awkward.

The pair had been sitting quietly in the front of the car the entire trip into the city while the three year old in the backseat kept herself busy with her barbies and tiny cassette player.

"I'm sorry for not telling you once I remembered today."

Erin tried for a smile, forcing her eyes to continue their stare straight through the windshield. "Well what does she do?"

"Momma is a layer!" the little girl in the back giggled.

Emily grinned at her daughter's words, her hands tightening on the steering wheel as they turned onto the right street. "Meredith is a lawyer, she works for Mel and Harvard."

Erin was impressed. That was the biggest law firm in D.C.

Sighing as she worked her car into the parking space on the busy city street, Emily gestured to the apartment complex. "That's her."

The Section Chief's head turned as she heard Acelyn scream for her momma.

Meredith was gorgeous, her velvety red hair cut stylishly just above her breasts and her obviously expensive clothing somehow still perfect as she stood from where she had been on the steps. She gathered the beautiful girl in her arms, sharing a somewhat timid smile with the BAU agent before turning and walking back up inside.

That was her competition, and Erin wasn't so sure that she could beat that.


	8. Chapter 8

Instead of sitting on the couch just as they'd done during their other get-togethers, Emily and Erin found themselves out on the back of the house's roundabout porch, sitting in the two antique rocking chairs that her grandmother had given her when she heard that she and her then wife had gotten pregnant.

They didn't speak for almost an hour, their eyes staying glued to the horizon just past the evergreens in her backyard where the sun continued to set.

Looking to the beautiful woman at her side, taking in the image of her dark hair blowing gently from the breeze and her relaxed figure sitting back in the chair in the jeans and t-shirt that she had changed into after they had gotten to their home. "May I ask you something?"

Emily never even moved, her face so soft from watching the view and eyes gazing. "Of course," she breathed.

"How did you two meet?" Once the younger woman finally turned to look at her, the blond tightened her hold on the coffee mug she held. "You and Meredith."

The brunette mother could feel herself give a faint smile as the memory flooded her brain. "I ran into her. Literally," she nodded, seeing the confused look on her new friend's face. "I was jogging on my street in the city, where I used to live, and I wasn't paying attention to where I was going because I had barely gotten any sleep the night before."

Erin began to smile. "If you hadn't gotten sleep then why go out on a run?"

"Clears my mind," she shrugged. "But I kind of smashed into her and I made her drop all of her papers that she'd been carrying to her car. Then after I helped her pick them all up and get them into her car, I told her that it was necessary for me to give her a proper apology by taking her to dinner." Hearing a laugh ring out from the older woman beside her, Emily threw her head back with a cackle. "It took her a minute to stop laughing at me before she gave me her number."

The Section Chief felt actual joy spread through her for the first time in a long time. This time with the younger woman that she had become friends with was truly helping to pick up her spirits. "Well you must have been an impressive couple. An FBI agent and a prosecutor who's never lost a case?"

Emily's brow arched.

"I looked her up on my phone in the car," she blushed.

Biting her lip, Emily slowly nodded her head. "Yeah," she sighed. "We were together for eight years, married for six. Our wedding day was the most publicized event of the entire year because of who we both were and where we came from. Meredith's mother is from England," she explained, sitting herself up in the rocking chair. "She's related to the royal family."

Erin's breath left her. "Wow."

"Our parents were so happy when we decided to have a baby, and Acelyn is the only thing that gets my mother to smile during family gatherings. But we were having problems, and when I turned just two months pregnant, Meredith told me that she was having second thoughts."

"On the baby?"

Emily could barely nod her head at the question. "It wasn't that she didn't want her, but right when I was inseminated, she ended up getting this big case and it took up most of her time. Basically it was just because she started losing those special moments of pregnancy and she got angry because of that, and once Acelyn turned one, we split up."

Erin's eyes softened on the brunette's flat features, her hand reaching out just as Emily's had done their first night and settling it over hers. "I'm sorry, I know how hard that can be."

"What about with you and Carl?" she asked, careful not to put any kind of accusation into her words.

Erin frowned, her hand slowly taking itself from the other mother's. "I'd rather not talk about it yet, if that's alright."

The brown eyed woman stood from her chair and helped her friend out of hers, making sure to hold on tight to her hand as they walked inside. "Come on. We're going to watch some really crappy romantic comedies and sob together. Sound good?"

Erin followed behind the younger woman and began to laugh, able to picture the serious look that Emily had on her face even though her back was to her.

If someone offers you comfort, why not take it?


	9. Chapter 9

"Emily?"

The brunette looked up from the onions she had been caramelizing in her favorite pan, her dark hair gently falling from her ponytail when she turned her hair. She smiled, seeing the older woman who she had become so accustomed to having around her sit down on one of her barstools. "What is it, Erin?"

"I'm so sorry," she apologized, gathering up her phone and purse from the marble counter. "Felicity called me up from home and asked if I can go pick up medicine for her. She has a stomach ache and her throat's so swollen, I could barely hear her."

Emily's face fell. "Oh I'm sorry."

Erin sighed, standing from the seat and shouldering her bag. "I know I said I'd stay for dinner but I need to get to her."

"Well just wait a minute," the other mother rushed out, looking back down to her pan and pouring the onions in with the rest of the vegetables and meat she had cooked up. "Bring this to her. It's only a little spicy, and after she eats it I think she'll feel a little better." She packed it up in a small container and handed it to the Section Chief, her lips curling up into a smile. "It's always been a comfort food to me."

The blond barely had enough time to smile back at the beautiful agent before she felt a tiny body rushing into hers, and she quickly bent down to bring the three year old into a hug.

"Rinny!"

Seeing the pure love on the beautiful girl's face, Erin pressed a kiss to her curls. "Hi sweetheart."

Acelyn reached out and handed her mother's new friend her favorite Barbie doll, her doe eyes looking innocently to the blond. "Her name is Tabby. Mommy gotted me her last year and I want you to have her, please."

Erin's heart warmed. "Why do you want me to have if you love her so much?"

Acelyn giggled, her tiny arms wrapping around her neck so she could hug her tight. "'Cause I love you too."

The brunette in the kitchen felt a sting rush into her eyes at the sight of her daughter bringing the Section Chief to tears, but she quickly wiped them away when Erin stood back up and Acelyn ran to her side. "Tell Felicity I send my love," she nodded.

Watching as the two adults said their goodbyes, the three year old practically crawled her way up her mother's body and hung like a monkey on her neck. "Mommy?"

"What baby?" Emily laughed, holding an arm under her daughter's butt so she wouldn't fall.

"Momma made you happy?"

She felt herself grow quiet at the question, her stunned eyes flickering over to her daughter's big does that stared back at her. "Of course she did, baby."

Acelyn bit into her pouting bottom lip. "Rinny make you happy?"

Now she knew where this was going. "Yes," she nodded, smiling to her little girl. "She does."

"The same as momma?"

Emily could feel as eyes crinkling as joy radiated through her smile, and she let her fingers tickle at her daughter's pudging tummy so she could hear that beautiful laugh. "I think she does, Acey Cakes," she whispered, pressing her lips against the brunette's temple.

Erin walked through the front door and as fast as she could into her daughter's favorite room, the one with the biggest television. She quickly sat herself down on the coffee table and took the washcloth off of Felicity's head, careful not to mess up that golden hair that the twenty year old took so much pride in. "How are you feeling?" she crooned, helping her sit up against the cushions.

The blue eyed girl shook her head.

"Here honey, I got you your medicine and brought you some food that Emily was making."

Felicity's eyes widened. "I took you away from your dinner? Why didn't you tell me? You should have stayed! What the hell mom?"

Erin held up a hand to stop her daughter from continuing her rant. "Calm down, ok? It's fine."

"I know you wanted to spend time with her, I'm sorry."

Feeling anxiousness begin to riddle throughout her body, Erin's eyes immediately jolted over to the liquor cabinet that her daughter had put a giant pad lock on. "Well I-"

"Don't even think about it," the girl rasped. "I dumped it all."

"Y-You!?" Erin's jaw dropped at the admission, watching as Felicity took the container of food and popped off the lid. "You dumped it? Everything?"

Felicity smiled. "Back to the subject please."

The blond ground her teeth as she sighed, her eyes hitting the paper that sat beside her on the table. "What is this?"

"Emily's ex was featured in it for winning that case about the mother who was accused of murdering her baby," the twenty year old nodded, coughing into her crooked elbow. "She got the judge to give her thirty-five years in prison."

"Wow," the Section Chief nodded.

Sitting back against the cushions of her mother's couch, Felicity tried her best to soothe her throat with the drink that her mother had gotten for her. "So Em told me that you two talked about her and Meredith."

Erin rolled her eyes. The two had gotten closer than she and Emily had over the last few weeks that they now how nicknames for each other. "Yes she did."

"I'm surprised though. With all you're going through?"

The mother frowned, seeing her daughter blow at the piece of beef on her fork. "What are you talking about? What does that have to do with it?"

Felicity gave a shrug. "I don't know, maybe the fact that she left the lawyer because she started drinking and you're going through a withdrawal of the same problem?"

"What?"

She could see tears quickly invading her mother's eyes at the news, and before she could try and fix the words that had flown through her mother's ears the Section Chief was running from the room.

Erin felt herself slipping as she ran up to her bedroom and slammed the door shut. She threw her shoes across the room, the phone fumbling in her hand as she tried to dial the number. "I'm sorry," she sobbed, falling down to sit on the edge of her bed. "I need to talk to you."


	10. Chapter 10

Emily could barely hear the thunder that echoed throughout the streets as she ran up her friend's porch, holding her jacket's open ends together as she knocked. Felicity had called her after her crying mother had hung up, the words spewing from her swollen throat about Erin running and locking herself in her room.

But Erin; the brunette agent could barely hear what she tried to say before a sob had ended their conversation.

"Emily?" The twenty year old flung the door open and quickly ushered the other woman inside. "I'm so sorry you had to come, you're soaking wet."

Emily's drenched ebony hair stuck to her face as she shook her head, following the young woman up the gran staircase of the mansion. "What happened?"

"She didn't tell you?"

"I could barely hear what she was saying because she was crying so hard," she sighed, running down the hallway until she reached the right doorway. "Erin? Erin honey, can you open the door for me?"

Felicity bit down hard into her lip, feeling a trickle of blood seep into her mouth as she heard her mother on the other side.

"Go and rest, ok? I'll take care of her."

"Well where's Acelyn?" the college girl questioned, knowing that it was Emily's time to have her daughter.

The brunette just shook her head, her hand on the doorknob of her friend's bedroom. "I dropped her off at my friend JJ's so I could come here. Just go lay down, alright? Everything will be fine." Once the sick girl was out of sight, Emily tried turning her shining knob. "Erin?"

The door was open.

Frowning, Emily walked herself inside the darkened room and shut the door behind her. "Honey," she breathed, moving across the length of the room and kneeling down before the crying woman. "Erin, can you look at me?"

The now red eyed woman couldn't even open her once beautiful sea eyes, her lids sealed shut as the water continued to pool behind them.

"Try and open your eyes for me," the single mother cooed, her hands cupping the older woman's sweating cheeks and running her thumbs under those swollen eyes to rid her of her tears. "I need you to calm down, ok? You're going to make yourself sick."

Erin sobbed, her hands coming away from cupping over her gaping mouth so she could breathe. "It hurts."

Emily saw that the Section Chief's hand was clutching at her chest, her fingers clenching around the material of her shirt. "Ok, I need you to calm down and I will get you a glass of water to help you." When she tried to stand, Erin's hand came down and tugged on her wrist. "Erin," the mother breathed, scared for the blonde's health at this point, "you need to let me get you some water."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

The brunette frowned, sitting down beside the older woman as she felt her calming down. "What are you talking about? What didn't I tell you?"

Erin looked pathetically at her new friend, her heart breaking at the clueless look she saw on her ivory face. "Meredith," she choked out. "She's an alcoholic." Her eyes grew even wetter at the thoughts and shame that ran through her. "And I'm one too."

Emily's jaw dropped.

"You two," she hiccupped, scooting away from the younger woman so she wouldn't be hurt, "aren't together, and now you won't want me because I'm just like her."

"Erin, Meredith and I are nothing like us."

The blond shook her head. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Emily tightened her lips to hold in her sigh, her hand reaching out and grasping onto the blue eyed woman's. "Why would I tell you something about my past that would effect you so badly? Look at yourself," she frowned, moving closer to the sobbing woman. "If I had told you that the drinking had been a part of our separation then you would have done the exact same thing you're doing now. I didn't want you to know because I didn't want to upset you."

Erin's chin trembled. "I'm pathetic," she sighed.

"Hey," the brown eyed woman automatically chasted, taking those paled cheeks in her palms once more and forcing Erin to look into her eyes. "You have an addiction, ok? That is not your fault, and it will never be your fault. I will always care about you just as I do Meredith, and I will never leave you for something that's trying to pull you into the darkness. I'm going to be right here, ok? You have to believe that."

The blond's eyes finally began to clear of tears as the words left her friend's mouth, and wrapping her hands around that beautifully slender neck, Erin pulled the younger woman's lips onto hers.

Emily's eyes fluttered closed at the feeling of Erin's salty lips landing on hers, her fingers massaging gently at the base of her neck before she pulled away, a hot breath passing by her lips. She watched as it gently blew back the Section Chief's blond hairs that hung before her eyes, and she pulled her closer so their foreheads barely touched. "I'm right here."


	11. Chapter 11

They had tried their hardest to pretend as if nothing had happened, the kiss that they both loved so much ringing in the back of their minds as they tried to get closer as friends before they got into a relationship. It was something they both wanted, but the kids, jobs and background differences were things that they needed to take into consideration beforehand.

Emily was struggling.

The brunette woman had to watch her friend try day after to day for the past two months to stay away from alcohol. Erin's fingernails became bitten and her skin tattered and bloodied, just as Emily's were when she was having a particularly bad case of anxiety.

Now Erin's anxiety began to spur on the younger mother's, and it was almost worse than it had been during the worst time in her life.

Doyle flashbacks.

Only two weeks ago Acelyn had run into her mother's room when she heard the agent screaming, and sobs immediately tore through the little girl when she saw Emily twisting and turning in her bed. The three year old couldn't wake the crying woman up until ten minutes into it, and every night afterward Acelyn would come into her mother's room just after she had been tucked in to make sure her mommy was safe and happy.

She wasn't.

Emily sighed, finally standing up from her desk and let her bag hand from her elbow. She was already late for the time she had set up to meet with her friend, but Derek had left earlier to be able to pick his mother up from the airport and she had ended up finishing all his files for him.

She looked up at the sound of a small whistle, and her frown lines showed when she looked up to the Italian of the group waving her into his office.

Dave gave a smile to the younger brunette once she came into his office, shutting the door behind her. "Leaving, Emily?"

"Yeah," she sighed. "I stayed a little late to finish my files, and I don't need to get Acelyn because she's with Meredith for the week."

Dave's brow rose. "The entire week? That's new."

Emily bit her lip, her head nodding. "Yup. We talked about it and she wanted more time with Acelyn, so after speaking with her sponsor to make sure it was alright, I agreed to let her have her one full week every month."

"That's a big change for you all."

The younger agent frowned, her eyes glaring down to those of the man sitting in his chair. "What exactly did you want, Dave?"

Dave grinned. "I saw you staring at your phone," he nodded, gesturing out the office window. "Were you expecting a call?"

Emily rolled her eyes as she finally sat herself down. "I know you know, Dave."

"And I know you know that I know."

The ivory woman leaned back in her seat, her eyebrows furrowing. "How?"

Dave's jaw almost fell to the floor. "Cara, do you not know me?"

"I'm worried about her, Dave," she whispered. "I'm scared for her. She hasn't touched a drop of alcohol, but because of that she's become extremely anal and anxiety ridden that she stays quiet for hours on end before just acting out and getting angry."

"Does she have a sponsor?"

The single mother shook her head, curls of ebony hair spinning as she felt fear start to ice her heart. "I've tried so many times to get her to talk to someone, even Reid, about what's going on and someone who can understand exactly what she's going through, but she never accepts my offer. And I don't want to keep pushing it on her or else she won't open up to me anymore, you know?"

Dave watched as the woman he thought of as his daughter brushed the hair from her eyes. "You have a bandaid on."

Emily was quick to fold her hands back up in her lap, hiding her injured thumb underneath. "Yeah, it's nothing big."

"Are you biting your nails again?"

Emily gave a laugh that sounded more like a sigh, and her gently threw her hands into the air. "I bit the damn thing down to the nub and then it fell off. That's how my life is going right now, alright? What the hell am I supposed to do."

Dave sat back, his eyes soft on the younger brunette as he watched her eyes grow misty. "Bella, you have feelings for her and I can see that, but you cannot have her life interfering with yours. You have a child to look after, and if this gets to you as much as it already has then you have to make a decision."

The brown eyed mother just shook her head. "I can't just leave her, Dave," she sighed. "I promised her I wouldn't. I want to help her I do, but it's hard. How am I supposed to balance everything? I know I'm good, but I can't handle all of this."

"Bella, if you need space then you tell me. I'll make it happen."

Emily's brows drew together as she frowned at her pseudo father. "You can't make that happen just like that."

Dave grabbed for his phone, watching as a smile started to spread over the younger woman's face. "David Rossi can't make this happen?" the author questioned. "Sit back and watch, darling. Give me less than five minutes," he winked, "and I'll happily watch you eat those words."


	12. Chapter 12

"Sit back for me."

Erin tried to breathe deeply at the sound of the desirable voice behind her, and she felt her hands begin to sweat and grow clammy.

"Please?" the voice tried, gently calloused hands settling on the older woman's shoulders. "Just sit back and let me help you relax," it whispered, the voice coming closer as if it were right beside her ear.

"I'm sorry," Erin whined pathetically, feeling the brunette's chin set itself atop her shoulder. "It's hard."

Emily forced herself to keep that composure she had worked on for years to stay in tact, her hands running down the Section Chief's shaking arms. "I know, and that's why I've taken you away," she grinned. "Dave gave me his cabin just for us and JJ is watching Acelyn. Felicity is back to college for a month before the holidays, and both of our homes are being looked after. There's nothing to worry about."

The mother of one shivered at the feeling of Emily's nose brushing against her cheek as she leaned into her.

"Let me help you," she husked.

Erin sighed, leaning back just enough so she could feel the younger body behind hers.

Emily's eyes lit up as the blond complied, and her hands immediately went to massaging her friend's tense shoulders. "I just want you to let go of everything, ok? You don't deserve what you've been carrying around and if you let me, I want to help make that go away."

Feeling those nimble fingers rub and knead the skin of her neck and shoulders, the blue eyed blond let out a breath, her eyes closing as she relished in the feeling.

It was like falling in love.

Emily was someone who had done everything to try and get her mind off of the substance that had caused her to lose so many people in her life and make choices that she had regretted ever since the second they were made. Emily had gotten her to calm down when she never thought she could, and feeling the warmth of her body radiating onto hers in such an intimate moment made her heart flutter.

The brunette was beautiful. Even though Erin couldn't see her, she could hear the gentle breaths and felt the air hitting her neck and back of the head. Those fingers that were working on her were practiced, and the thought of everything that she could do with them had butterflies whirling around in the Section Chief's stomach.

She was driving her crazy.

Feeling that ample chest press against her back as the brunette leaned closer, Erin gasped.

Emily's lips pressed ever so lightly against her warmed cheek, her hands and fingers pressing deeper into those knotted muscles. "I wish you could see yourself right now," the mother stated quietly as she continued to massage the older woman. "You look so beautiful when you're calm."

"Stress wears on the features, doesn't it?" the Section Chief chuckled nervously.

Letting her hands wander down the beautiful blonde's tense backside until they reached just above where her bra latched together, Emily dug her fingers in. "How do you feel?"

Strauss finally felt herself able to breathe deeply, the cool air hitting the bottoms of her lungs before rounding about the space and leaving through her lips. "Good," she nodded, leaning back into the woman who had let her become someone she wasn't used to being. Someone she wanted to get to know a lot better. "Better."

"More serene?"

Blue eyes fluttered open at the feeling of lips against her cheek once more. "More serene." Going against her instincts for wanting to stay in the brunette's strong arms, Erin turned herself around on the couch. "I want to thank you."

Emily smiled her gentlest smile at the older woman, reaching her hands forward and sliding her hands along Erin's. "For what? The cabin? You can thank Dave for that," she chuckled. "He would have shot me without question if I didn't take him up on his demand."

Erin laughed. "I thought you said it was an offer."

"Do you not know David Rossi?" she scoffed, her eyes sparkling with delight. "It was a demand."

The older woman smiled a toothy smile as she stared into her subordinate's eyes, shaking her head. "I wanted to thank you not only for the cabin," she said, trying not to let her voice waver as the other mother's warmth started to seep into her and take those doubts and addictive feelings away. "But I also wanted to thank you for what you've been helping me do. I didn't know the problems I had until you showed me, and you never even thought of running away from me."

Emily heard the emotion hiding behind the words that came from the blond before her.

"I know we had a very rough start to this relationship, how I hired you for my own gain, and I know I've apologized since then but I haven't really meant it until now. I never thought of how it would effect you or what I was doing to jeopardize the lives of your friends, or the quality of one of the FBI's greatest teams. I am so sorry I almost cost you your livelihood and the job that you had dreamed of for so long."

Leaning forward, the ivory mother took her friend into a warm hug, her arms around those stiff shoulders just tight enough to let her know that she was there, but not enough to make her feel suffocated. "We help each other, that's what we do. I told you I would never leave you."

Erin frowned, scoffing into the younger woman's shoulder. "What have I helped you with?"

Emily leaned back just enough to look into those sea blue eyes that took her into their current. "I've become me again," she sighed happily, her hands splaying out against the space in between Erin's shoulder blades. "I'm happy, even when I'm not around my daughter, and I've let someone in that I never thought I could. You helped me remember who I was before Meredith, and just because you're dealing with something, we're dealing with something, doesn't mean that light can't shine through us." She dared herself to do what she had been thinking of doing for the past weeks, the thought that had been tearing at her mind night after night, and she leaned in to kiss her.

Finally feeling that spark that she had when they had done this for the first time, Erin kissed the beautifully strong woman back with abandon, her arms tightening themselves around her waist.

"You," she breathed as she pulled her lips away, "are the reason that I find myself smiling at the most random times. When I'm cooking food, getting out of the shower, or just walking through the halls of the bureau. That smile is because of you, and I love that you do that for me." Leaning back in, Emily captured those soft lips of the older woman and sighed. "Let's go to bed."

Erin's eyes widened.

"Don't worry," the brunette smiled, seeing the immediate worry flood through the Section Chief. She stood up from the couch and ran her hands down her thighs to get the wrinkles out of her sweats. "I won't touch you and you won't touch me. It's just for sleep." Giving the mother her hand, the FBI agent funnily wiggled her fingers, waiting for Erin to take it. "Come to bed with me?"


	13. Chapter 13

They had slept cuddled in each others arms all night long. Emily's head was nestled into the crook of the other mother's neck and her arms around her waist, for once the brunette agent being able to use the Section Chief as the pillow that Erin had been using her as. She was the one who got to be comforted throughout the night this time, and as she gently awoke in those warm arms and stretched her body, Emily smiled.

"Are you awake?"

Looking up at the whispered voice, the brown eyed woman blinked. "Hey," she whispered, her arms wrapping tighter around the strong body beside hers. "Have you been awake long?"

Erin slowly nodded her head, her eyes glued to the window that was over Emily's shoulder. "All night."

"Why?"

Running her fingers along the younger woman's bare collarbone, their skin rubbing together as her nails refused to mar the alabaster nature, Erin breathed. "I liked feeling you in my arms."

Emily's eyes softened on the serene look that the blond held.

"I didn't have a craving all night," she nodded. "Not with you here."

The brunette mother grinned, a little reluctantly climbing out of Erin's embrace before she straddled her legs, hands dipping down in the mattress beneath them. "Then maybe I should be with you more often," she whispered, a giggle escaping her lips as she kissed the Section Chief.

Reaching up to grab onto those ebony tendrils of hair, Erin let Emily kiss her. She felt those warm, loving hands that belonged to that warm, loving woman above her cup her cheeks, the ivory woman's chest rubbing and bumping against hers.

She let her love her. She let her move those well experienced and powerful lips take over hers, feeling the heat that sit between the agent's legs rub against hers as those hands then slowly made their way down her body, and she let her hold her, nuzzle her and love her like no one had before.

Erin's back arched just as Emily's lips left hers and pressed hotly against her neck. "Emmy," she gasped, taking her hands from that midnight hair and trailing them down the slender sides of Emily's body. "Can you? Please?"

Just the other night they had spoken about their wants, desires and what they loved most when with a lover. It was an intimate conversation, and she knew when having it, it would lead to this intimate moment.

Brushing her nose against the underside of her new lover's chin, Emily looked deeply into those icy eyes. "You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen," she smiled, unbuttoning the first two buttons of that delicate navy blouse and kissed down her chest, just how Erin had told her she liked it.

Her lips brushed the skin just enough so the older woman could feel the gentlest sensation, and her tongue slowly darted out so she could lick the nervous sweat from her sweet skin. She let her teeth bare and nip at the swell of her right breast, a laugh vibrating through her and into the blond when she heard a gasp emanate into the air. "You're feisty when you're turned on, aren't you?" she teased, her left hand squeezing tenderly at Erin's breast before she kissed her again.

Erin kissed her back as heartily as she could, arms wrapping tight around the brunette's neck and pulling the now moaning woman down to lie her body directly against hers.

Before the younger of the pair could let her tongue divinely slip into Erin's, Emily had to pull away. "Did you hear that?"

Groaning, Erin threw her head back so it hit the pillow. "Yes," she growled, angry at the knocking on the door that made Emily lift herself from her body and fix her shirt. "Who the hell knows we're here? The one time I'm actually happy and someone comes to ruin it? Really?"

Emily forced herself not to laugh at the angry woman as she leaned back down to kiss her lips. "It might be Dave, ok? Let me go see." Slipping her favorite socks on, the brunette woman walked out of the bedroom and to the front door of the cabin. "Dave? What do you want?" she sighed, unlatching the lock. "We were kind of busy with something."

"Emily?"

Brown eyes widened at the sight of her ex wife shivering on the front step. "Mer," she breathed. "What are you doing here?"

Meredith broke into tears when Emily ushered herself inside the cabin. "It's Acelyn," she rushed out. "Jennifer called me and said she's in the hospital."

"She's what?" Her heart broke at the words. "What the hell happened?"

Meredith shook her head. "She said that Acelyn and Henry were playing together and then she started screaming that her tummy hurt, and Jen rushed her to the emergency room."

Emily slipped her shoes on as quick as she could, calling for Erin to come from the bedroom and get ready to leave.

"What? You're bringing your girlfriend?"

"What the hell do you want me to do, Meredith?" she hissed, sliding her arms through the holes in her jacket. "I'm not going to just leave her here. We're all going to the hospital together, alright?"

"Bu-"

A glare from the brunette woman silenced the lawyer, those blue eyes she had fallen in love with all those years ago widening in sadness. "You leave her alone and focus on your daughter for once."

Erin heard the growled words come from the younger woman as she came running out of the room. "What is it?" She was quiet and tender as she came into the living room, not wanting to disturb what had become of the conversation.

"Acelyn is in the hospital. Will you come?"

The three year old's name resonated in Erin's ears before she even noticed Emily's puppy dog eyes staring at her, and she was already putting on those hiking boots she was only using for the third time in maybe twenty years.

She wouldn't leave the loving woman alone in something as horrid as this, and she held tightly onto her shaking hand as they drove back to D.C.


	14. Chapter 14

Erin sat quietly across the small highway from the redheaded woman who her new girlfriend had first been in love with, their silence echoing throughout the hospital as they waited for Emily to come back from speaking with the doctor.

They had been in the hospital for three hours now, and neither parent could get anything out of the workers. Baby Acelyn's appendix had burst while she and Henry were playing the night before, and Meredith wasn't able to get JJ back on the phone after they had disconnected, spending her entire night in the car in the middle of a traffic jam all the way up to the cabin where the blond mother had told her where her ex was staying.

Emily had gone running when they had gotten to the hospital, asking every doctor and nurse that passed her where the children's ward was and what was happening to her daughter at that very moment.

She should have been out of surgery at least thirty minutes ago, and that's how long the brunette mother had been hounding the nurses behind the desk on the update of her baby girl.

"Would you like some coffee?" Erin asked out of the blue, feeling as if she were growing smaller and smaller by the moments that they spent in the quiet.

Meredith wiped another tear away before it even fell from her eye. "I'd rather a beer," she said darkly.

The older of the two saw Emily's ex's eyes boring into hers from the other side of the room, and Erin's fingers immediately began to fiddle in her lap. "I'm not one to judge, but I don't think that that's the best thing for either of us at the moment too."

Meredith chuckled, sitting back in her seat. "You're a drunk too, huh? Guess Em really does have a type."

Erin lifted her chin and iced her eyes just as she did when she was speaking to a subordinate. "I apologize if I've hit a nerve, but seeing as how I was trying to help you and not rub it in that I'm the one who's now sleeping with the woman you called your wife, I wouldn't be smart mouthing me."

The redhead's eyes glared toward the woman who now sat proudly at the other side of the hall. "I doubt your girlfriend would appreciate you speaking down to the mother of her child."

"And she wouldn't think badly about the mother of her child doing the same to her girlfriend?" Her head spun, hearing the heavy footsteps of the booted brunette running down the hall to them. "How is she?"

"She's out of surgery," the mother breathed, finally able to feel her heart beat again. "He said we can go in and see her, but only two at a time."

Erin stood slowly from her seat, seeing the lawyer from the corner of her eye sprint from her side of the hallway and take her ex into a hug. Her heart broke, her eyes soft on the pair as she watched Emily fall into Meredith's arms and breathe in a sigh of relief. "I'll be out here."

The brunette's teary eyes looked toward the eldest of the group and she was quick to run into her arms. "I'll be back out and then you can see her, ok? I know she'd want to see you too." She pulled back, pressing a long kiss to her girlfriend's lips before she turned and grabbed the lawyer's hand.

She smirked.

Meredith actually smirked at the Section Chief before she followed Emily back down the hall and into the children's ward. How was a woman who the intelligent and loving Emily Prentiss had once picked out to spend her life with a complete sneak and vamp, and the brunette agent couldn't read it as it played out before her own eyes?

She was supposed to be worried about her child, a three year old who had gone through an immediate surgery, and instead she had kept her eyes on Erin the entire time they were in that hospital.

A familiar yearning entered the blonde's chest, the knots in her stomach coiling tighter, and she immediately looked toward the elevators.

She needed a drink.


	15. Chapter 15

Pressing her quivering lips against her daughter's forehead, Emily smiled. "Hey there baby girl," she whispered, smoothing back those dark curls that the three year old had gotten from her. "How are you feeling?"

Acelyn pouted, her eyes still shut tight. "Tired."

"You did so good, baby," she grinned. "Momma's here with me too."

"Momma?"

Meredith ran her thumb down her daughter's cheek. "You're like a superhero now, kiddo. Got a badge of honor just like mommy over there."

Emily glared over to her ex, knowing that Acelyn had seen a few of her scars as she came out of the shower one day. "Why don't you go back to bed, ok? Your momma and I are gonna be here when you feel like waking up, and I'll even get Erin to come in."

The three year old's face immediately lit up. "Rinny is here, mommy?"

"Yeah, Rinny is just outside. She's not allowed to come in right now because there'll be too many people, but once you wake up, she's gonna be right here next to your bed. How does that sound?"

Acelyn's tired face gently twitched. "Very good."

Emily laughed. "Good. You go to bed now, ok? The faster you get to sleep, the faster you'll wake up to Rinny in your room." Waiting until the beautiful alabaster skinned girl fell back to sleep, the brunette mother let out a sigh. "Thank you for coming to get me," she sighed as she took the other woman into a small hug. "I would have been completely broken hearted if I wasn't here when she woke up."

The redheaded woman smiled against her ex wife's head of hair before pressing a reassuring kiss to her temple. "I knew you would have been."

She pulled away, wiping a hand down her relieved features and throwing her hair behind her shoulders. "Ok, I'm gonna go get Erin and tell her everything is alright. Do you mind if I leave you here for a little so I can go out to her?"

"Not at all," she smiled. "I wouldn't want to leave her anyway."

Emily frowned at the small dig before exiting the room, a smile popping onto her face when she almost bumped into the younger woman who stood just outside the door. "JJ hi," she gushed, swooping her friend into a hug. "Thank you so much for taking care of her. If she hadn't been with you, I don't know what would have happened."

The other agent shook her head. "I knew exactly what it was when I heard her."

"Oh that's right, you had your surgery for it just before you got to the BAU," Emily nodded. "Hey, did you see Erin anywhere out here? We were waiting just down the next hall earlier."

JJ grinned evilly to the older woman. "Erin, hmm?"

Emily smiled. "Have you seen her?"

"I actually haven't, but she may be in the restroom or something."

After checking the three bathrooms nearest to her daughter's hospital room, Emily made her way over to the desk and set her hands atop the cool surface. "Hi, I've been sitting just down the hall with two other women, one was a blond. Can you tell me if you saw her?"

"She took the elevator down to the third floor just five minutes ago," the nurse nodded.

"Thank you very much," Emily smiled. She let out a breath as she hopped onto the elevator, sharing small hellos with two patients that stood with her before the bell dinged. Walking throughout the expanse of the third floor, the hospital's psychiatric ward, the chocolate eyed woman finally found her girlfriend sitting in another waiting room, a styrofoam cup clasped between her two hands.

As slowly and quietly as she could, as if she were a tiger stalking her prey, the no longer single mother made her way over to the blond and sat herself down beside her. "Traveled down four floors for a cup of coffee?"

Erin's eyes stayed glued to the dark liquid that floated around in her cup. "You were with the mother of your daughter, and I thought that coffee was better than downing a bottle of tequila."

Emily clasped her hands together, her elbows sitting on her knees. "She said something, didn't she?" she asked softly, so proud that the older woman had gone against her urges.

"Well I can tell why your ex wife is your ex wife, let's just say that." Finally looking up, Erin locked eyes with those of the brunette that had made her finally feel something other than shame. "How's Acelyn?"

"Very drugged up for a very little girl," the agent laughed. "But she's good, and she can't wait to see you."

Erin's eyes brightened at the words. "She does?"

Emily bit down into her bottom lip, her voice deepening with desire. "She always wants her Rinny," she husked. Seeing the blush creep onto her girlfriend's cheeks, the mother leaned in and locked her lips with the blonde's.

The Section Chief sighed happily against the younger woman's lips, feeling one of her calloused hands clasp hers.

"Come on," she smiled, pulling the beautiful blond to her feet and leading her down the hall. "We can go up and wait in her room until she wakes up."

They held each other's hands softly on the ride back upstairs, Emily's lips kissing her girlfriend's cheek at every ding she heard before they walked down toward Acelyn's hospital room. Seeing her ex standing outside the closed door, where she knew JJ, Henry and Will were now decorating the walls with tiny stars and hearts that the blond boy had cut out during Acelyn's surgery, the brunette woman straightened her shoulders. "Apologize."

Meredith frowned, slowly taking her phone from her ear and putting it back into her jeans pocket. "Excuse me?"

"Apologize for the way you treated my girlfriend," Emily clarified, her fingers intertwining with the blonde's.

"Emily, you weren't there. What your little girlfriend told you obviously isn't the entire story because I am not the only one who said something."

The ivory woman chuckled at the words. "Meredith, I've known you long enough to realize that whatever was said between the two of you, you were the antagonizer. Now apologize."

Meredith moved her gaze from her ex to the woman at her side. "I'm so sorry that you've ended up with someone as sad and disgraceful as Emily Prentiss."

Hardening her gaze, Emily kept the smug smile plastered to her face. "With everything you've done," she whispered darkly, "your DUI, missing out on my pregnancy and the beginning of your daughter's life because of your drinking, I could have every right of yours taken away. Now, I suggest you apologize."

"I'm sorry," the redhead ground out.

Erin gave a gentle nod to the younger woman, feeling Emily snuggle into her side. "And I'm sorry as well. I'm also sorry that you have so much hatred inside of you that it's taking away from time with your daughter."

Seeing the wounded look in her ex wife's eyes, Emily held her head up. "Now if you want to set everything aside, we're going in to be with Acelyn. I hope you'll join us."


	16. Chapter 16

Emily sat back in her chair with a smile as she watched her daughter hug Erin to her as fiercely as she could, forcing the blond woman onto the hospital bed that she lay in. Once Acelyn had woken up, the three year old practically screamed when she saw her Rinny sitting right beside her bed.

"I love you I love you I love you!"

Erin's eyes watered as she smiled into the young girl's velvety soft hair. "I love you too, princess. How are you feeling?"

"Very good," she nodded. "Thank you very much."

The Section Chief laughed at the politeness seeping from the three year old and wrapped her up tighter in her arms. "The words coming from this one," she laughed over to Emily. "I'm thinking we need to keep her."

Emily smiled warmly to the pair, hearing the hospital door creak as it opened. "I guess we have to."

"Keep me, mommy!"

"Oh we are!" Emily chuckled, making her way over to the two and pressing kisses to each of their cheeks. "You help our insurance go down, you know."

Erin shared a grin with the brunette at her side. "Complete lie."

"Well of course. If we told her we actually liked her, she'd get away with anything," she said wide eyed, very aware of her daughter staring up to her with the same gaze. "Do we really want that?"

Acelyn giggled, reaching up for her mother and forcing her into a hug. "Love you, mommy."

Emily rocked the three year old as gently as she could. "I love you too, Acey-Cakes."

"Be careful there, pumpkin. We don't need your stitches pulling."

The couple beside the hospital bed looked up at the familiar voice, Emily nodding to the redhead as she was led inside by JJ and Henry.

Acelyn's eyes brightened at the sight of her mother walking into the room. "Hi momma!"

Meredith grinned, walking up to the other side of the bed and kissing her little girl's cheek. "Hey there girly. How are you feeling now?"

"Good!" She frowned, eyeing the IV that stuck into her arm. "It's itchy."

"Honey no," Emily chastised, batting the three year old's hand away from the tube. "You have to leave that in, ok? It's a little itchy but it's gonna hurt a lot if you start touching and playing with it."

"Can I have it out, mommy?"

The brunette shared a pout with her daughter. "I'm sorry baby, but it has to stay in until you're ready to leave."

Acelyn grinned. "Let's go!"

JJ laughed from her spot in the room, Henry strapped tightly to her hip. "That's not how it works, babe."

"But I wanna go!"

"Calm down, ok? You can't move around so much right now," Emily soothed, trading places with her girlfriend and sitting herself down beside the little girl. "Can you calm down for mommy?"

Acelyn let out a breath, her small hands wiping over her eyes. "I'm tired."

Erin smiled to the brunette gently twisting in her bed, not noticing Meredith glaring at her from the other side. "If you wanna go to bed, we'll be right here. I bet you we won't even have moved by the time you wake up."

"What if I waked up in a week, Rinny?" she giggled.

"Well we'd still be right here!" Erin glared playfully down to the happy girl. "Didn't you just hear me?"

Watching as her daughter's eyes fluttered closed, Emily finally felt herself breathe. "I'll be right back, ok? I need to go to the bathroom." She shared a small kiss with the older woman and smiled to her friend before she walked out into the hallway. Barely making it down the hallway, the brunette turned her head back to see Meredith following her. "Hey," she nodded, stopping in her tracks so the lawyer could catch up to her. "Bathroom's down this way."

"Yeah," she coughed. "Listen, I wanted to apologize for what I said to you and Erin back there. It's just really stressful being here and dealing with Acelyn like this."

Emily kept her eyes forward as they slowly began to walk. "Thanks."

Anger boiling inside of her at the rejection of her ex wife, Meredith reached forward and grabbed her hand. "Can you just listen to me for one minute?" she asked, her voice screeching as she pulled Emily and spun her around. Gently backing her against the wall, the redhead forced her daughter's mother to look into her eyes. "I know I fucked up, a lot of times," she tried to laugh. "But I'm trying to do better. You can see that, right?"

The brown eyed agent gently nodded her head. "You're doing a lot better," the mother nodded. "I can see that." Lifting her chin to force her tears away, thinking of what she put her beautiful baby girl through with having the lawyer as a parent, Emily gave a gentle pat to the younger woman's hand. "Come on, I'll show you where the bathroom is."


	17. Chapter 17

Holding her daughter tightly in her hold as they walked into the house, Emily pressed small kisses to the side of her head. She cooed as comfortingly as she could when Acelyn began to moan in pain, and she hurried her pace up the steps as she heard her girlfriend shutting the door. "I know baby, I know. Don't worry, I'm gonna get you up to bed and when you're feeling better, I'm gonna bring you up some dinner."

"Thank you," she whined, wrapping her tiny arms tighter around her mother's neck.

Emily smiled against Acelyn's dark hair before lying her down in her princess bed, pulling the comforter up to her chest. "You get some sleep, ok?"

"It huuuurts!"

"I know," she pouted, hated seeing the tears in her baby's eyes. "Why don't I get you some hot cocoa?"

Acelyn nibbled into her bottom lip, her hands clutching her blanket tighter, before slowly nodding her head. "Ok."

Emily grinned. "Ok," she agreed, bending down and pecking her forehead.

Lightly nodding on the bedroom door before making her way inside, the blond of the group tiptoed her way over to the young girl's starter bed. "Guess who's on the phone to talk to her special little friend?"

"Licity!" the three year old giggled, practically barreling out of her bed to get the phone."

"Whoa whoa, back in bed!" Emily put her daughter back against her pillows and handed her the phone. "You stay right here and talk to her, ok? Don't move like that or you can get a lot more hurt." Once her little girl was situated in her bed, the brunette led her girlfriend downstairs and into the kitchen. "So how are you feeling?" she smiled as best she could, sitting them both down on her island's barstools.

Erin frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Sweetheart, did you really think I would let what we spoke about in the hospital go?" Emily took both Erin's hands in hers and held them softly. "You wanted a drink."

The blond immediately shook her head. "But I didn't drink, so what does it matter? I'm fine, Emily. Let it go."

Doing her best to stay clam at the immediate haste and denial coming from the older woman, the mother ran her thumb along the smooth skin of Erin's hand. "Erin just listen to me, please."

"Why? I don't understand the point of this. I didn't drink," she almost hissed, annoyed with her girlfriend pushing the subject on her.

She saw tears spring into the Section Chief's eyes, and Emily slowly scooted forward on her stool. "You handled your craving better than I thought anyone could," she said sincerely, "but that doesn't mean that you'll be able to do that all the time. I think it's best that you speak to someone and find a sponsor."

Erin's jaw dropped. "But why?" Her anger was gone, those blue eyes widening with sadness. "I talk to you."

"But I'm not qualified to help you with what you need help with." Feeling the hands in hers start to shake, Emily knew her girlfriend's anxiety was shooting through the roof, and she quickly brought their stools together and held the blonde's face close to hers. "Calm down," she soothed, her hands cupping those heated cheeks of the older woman. "Just stay focused on me, ok? Everything's alright, just stay focused on me."

Erin let out a cry, trying to break away from the brunette mother's hold. "I can't do this!"

Emily held her tighter, hear ears burning with the sounds of Erin's sobs wracking through them both. "Listen to me." Her voice was stern, but the one thing that she knew couldn't be hidden was the love that burned through. "You are so strong, and even though I know you've accomplished so much of this on your own already, you're going to need help in the future. You cannot fight this battle alone, and I am not going to let you."

Hearing those words leave the younger woman's tightened lips, Erin cried.

She loved her.


	18. Chapter 18

A screech echoed through the air as Erin felt those nimble fingers that belonged to her beautiful girlfriend pounded into her. She gripped the sheets, the expensive material threading through her fingers as her body arched above the bed. "Emmy!" A hot breath escaped her when she finally came, her eyes rolling back into her head at the feeling of the brunette's skilled tongue eating up all the juices that had flooded from her.

Emily licked the juices from her pink lips before pressing a kiss to her girlfriend's erected nub. "So beautiful," she grinned, crawling back up Erin's heaving body and locking their lips, letting her tongue slip into the older woman's warm mouth.

She moaned, her hands reaching up and cupping the brunette's cheeks. "That was some congratulatory gift."

"Well what can I say?" she chuckled darkly, nudging her nose against the Section Chief's. "I'm proud of you." Looking deeply into those beautiful blue eyes, Emily smiled. "I'm so proud of you."

Forty days ago, the blond had broken down in her girlfriend's arms when the had gotten Acelyn home from the hospital. Thirty-six was how many days ago Emily had found Erin huddled beside the master bathroom's toilet with a bottle of vodka in her hands.

And now she was one month sober.

When Erin had come to meet the younger woman for dinner at the house, the brunette woman had practically bombarded her in a red laced nightie and then dragged her up to the bedroom.

"You know," Erin sighed, smiling gently as she returned the kiss. "I would have just enjoyed the dinner that you promised me."

Emily's jaw dropped. They had gone three rounds, _three_ , and the woman that the brunette had begun to fall for would have an enjoyed a plate of pasta with homemade pesto sauce just as much as the mindblowing sex that they just had. "Excuse me?"

Smirking up to the confused woman, Erin shook her head, hearing a small knock on the door. "I think there's a little girl who wants to come sleep with her mommy."

Emily stuck her tongue out, crawling off of the older woman and slipping the pajama shirt that sat on the chair beside her bed over her head. "Come in, baby."

The three year old peeked her head into the room, her small hands slipping from the doorknob as she ran into the room. "I had a bad dream."

Erin picked up the little girl, thanking God that she hadn't taken off the t-shirt that Emily had given her after their second round, and settled her between she and Emily's tired bodies.

Letting her daughter snuggled up into her side, the agent ran her fingers through those brown locks that the three year old beheld. "You wanna tell mommy what the bad dream was about?" She watched as a grin appeared on those Charlie Brown cheeks and gasped, pulling the laughing girl on top of her. "You little fibber," she laughed, tickling at Acelyn's sides. "You didn't have a bad dream."

"No!" she shrieked, her little body being lifted from the bed as her mother raised her up.

"Well then why are you up, baby girl? It's late."

Acelyn batted at her mother's hand until she was put back down, and she quickly sat herself up as straight as she could between the two adults. "Listen please," she nodded, putting a hand on either woman's legs that had been covered with the duvet. "My birthday is tomorrow."

Emily laughed at the seriousness written across her daughter's features. "What? Did you think I forgot?"

"I want a puppy!"

Hearing her girlfriend's amused chuckle, Emily put on a pout. "Baby, puppy's are hard work. Besides, I already got you your present that you're going to open in the morning."

Acelyn looked up to her mother with her doe eyes. "Pleeeeaase mommy?"

"No Acelyn, I'm sorry."

Frowning, Acelyn turned to look up to the other woman in the bed. "Hi Rinny," she grinned.

Erin smiled down to the little girl. "Hi princess. Are you tired?"

"No," was the immediate response. "Don't you thinks I should get a puppy?"

"Well your mother already answered that, Acelyn. I can't go against what she thinks is best for you."

Emily sighed, taking the almost four year old in her arms and standing from the bed. "Come on, time for bed."

"But mommy!"

She motioned for Erin to follow them out of the room before putting an arm under the cranky girl's butt for support, and the mother carried her back into the pink bedroom just a few feet away from hers. "You really need to get back in bed or you're not going to want to go to you party." Seeing the famous Acelyn puppy face, Emily bit her lip. "You know what?"

Acelyn's eyes brightened. "What?"

"Maybe if I give you one of your presents right now, you'll go to bed easier. How about that?"

The brunette girl practically jumped out of her bed at the suggestion. "Ok!"

Erin's cheeks began to hurt from smiling so wide at the excitement that came from the young girl, and she sat on the bed to try and calm the three year old when Emily went downstairs to get the present.

"You know what it is, Rinny?" she whispered.

Erin frowned. "You think I'm gonna give up the secret? I don't think so, Acey."

Emily held the quiet present in her arms as she made her way back up the stairs, pressing a small kiss to its head to make sure it stayed calm. "Now be careful," she warned, grinning at the wide eyes of her daughter. "She gets very jumpy when she wakes up."

Tears filled the three year old's eyes as the corgi puppy was set beside her. "I got a puppy," she cried, looking up to her mother and tugging her down into her arms for a hug.

"So dramatic," the brunette laughed lightly, sharing a smile with the older woman in the room before kissing at her daughter's cheek. "Happy birthday, sweetheart."

"Can I name her Bunny?"

Emily grinned as she wiped the tears from Acelyn's face. "You can name her whatever you want as long as you get back to sleep."

"Ok," she nodded hastily. "Bye."

The ebony haired agent cackled along with her girlfriend as they made their way back to the bedroom, wiping a tear away with one of her knuckles. "My little drama queen," she smirked, shutting the door behind him. "And she's naming a dog 'Bunny'."

"Your fault," Erin smiled, feeling her heart pounding inside of her chest as she backed the younger woman up toward the bed. "You're the one who told her that she could name it what she wanted."

Emily's lids grew heavy as Erin began pecking at her lips, those warm hands cupping her hips. "Well the puppy is hers, not mine," she tried to chuckle, kissing the blond back before she was pushed onto her bed. Getting herself up onto her elbows, Emily smiled darkly and let newly sober woman come forward to straddle her thighs. "So am I getting my present now?"

Leaning down, Erin captured those plump lips of the brunette with hers. "Of course."


	19. Chapter 19

Growing blond hair fell just above her shoulders as she took the band from her hair. She was nervous, and even though the woman she had fallen for was sitting right beside her with the rest of their family, Erin felt her heart pounding.

"Erin?"

"Yes?" she asked, feeling her mouth go dry as she looked up to her sponsor.

The younger woman smiled at the nervous look on the Section Chief's face. "We're ready for you."

Letting the brunette at her side kiss her cheek, Erin stood up and made her way to the front of the applauding audience. She held the notecards she had been working on for over a week in her sweaty palms as she got up behind the podium, and she smiled as best she could to the crowd sitting in the hotel ballroom. "Hello, my name is Erin Strauss. I'm the Section Chief of the BAU in the FBI."

She cleared her throat, blue eyes staring out into the audience as she let the cards fall to the wood before her. "I wrote a speech, and I worked very hard on it, but now I don't think I should read it." Seeing Emily grow confused in the third row, Erin smiled. "I'm not usually one for cursing, but trust me when I say that my life was far from shitty. Many out there have it so much worse than I ever have, but alcohol is something that I got carried away with. I wasn't even aware that I had a problem until someone very close to me began to notice that I was changing."

Emily smiled into her daughter's hair, her arms wrapped tight around her small body that sat in her lap.

"That woman that helped me realize what I was becoming took me out of the worst situation I could imagine, and luckily enough for me, she fell for me as I did for her." The blond grinned. "Emily and I are engaged to be married this November, and at our wedding I'll not only be able to gain a wife, but I am so grateful that I am going to gain another child; a beautiful little girl that knows me as Rinny."

Acelyn's hand shot up to wave at the older woman, hearing her mother laugh into her ear. "Hi Rinny!"

"Hi sweetheart," Erin smiled, waving back to the girl who was headed into kindergarten. "Although I'll end up as her stepmother, I understand that I'll always be Rinny. She already has a mommy and a momma, and I know that I am neither one of those. And unfortunately, Acelyn is only able to see her mommy and I while her momma sends letters to the house every Friday night."

Meredith had gone back on the bottle, and the moment Emily had smelled liquor on her breath when she and her girlfriend had gone to drop off their little girl, the brunette woman had filed for sole custody.

"These two have helped me see what I was missing by sitting home every night and having a drink," she laughed lightly. "I like going out and having a fun time with my fiancé, and I love that I can do that without wanting to drink anything. I'm proud of myself for finally seeing the better part of life, and I am so happy that you all came out today to hear my success story."

Looking down to see her fiancé's watering eyes, Erin nodded. "I am three hundred and sixty-five days sober. It's hard to stay away from my weakness, many of you in the audience understand my pain. But I'm here to tell you all that it gets easier than you can imagine. As my family stands behind me to support me, I'm here to support you."

Her sponsor came over from the right of the stage and took the older woman into a hug, handing her the golden chip to the blond who held tears in her eyes. "Congratulations Erin. You did it," the blond grinned.

Erin let out a watery laugh, hearing her family cheering from the audience as everyone stood and began to clap. "Thank you so much."

She was gaining her one year sober chip today, just as she had gained a newfound family. And she deserved every single thing that she got.

She was better.


End file.
